A United COSATU

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A United Voice of the Proletariat May 2016 COSATUby OJ Fourie Workers Day, also known as May Day, is a celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements. It commonly sees organized street demonstrations and marches by working class people and labour unions throughout most of the world. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries. It is also celebrated unofficially in many other countries throughout the world. International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for an eight hour workday, killing several demonstrators and resulting in the deaths of several police officers. In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. Workers Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891. In many countries, the working class sought to make Workers Day an official holiday, and their efforts largely succeeded. Workers Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist and communist groups. In some circles, bonfires are lit in commemoration of the Haymarket martyrs, usually at dawn. Workers Day has been an important official holiday in Communist countries such as the People's Republic of China, Cuba and the former Soviet Union. For the workers of the world this is not a public holiday, but a day in which we gather in our numbers and raise our voices and continue to fight for better working conditions. Following the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, 1 May was inaugurated as an official national public holiday. Workers Day symbolises the historical struggles of the workers of the country and their trade unions for solidarity between working people, and in their struggles to achieve fair employment conditions. This included the need to establish a culture of human- and worker rights which are enshrined in international law and the national law of the countries aligned to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), of which South Africa is a member. Allow me to recall the four freedoms which constitute the ILO’s global fundamental principles and rights at work: Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; Freedom from discrimination in employment and occupation, Freedom from forced labour, and Freedom from child labour. For the workers of the world this is not a public holiday, but a day in which we gather in our numbers and raise our voices and continue to fight for better working conditions. COSATU The SACP continuous to support COSATU as the only pro- Kimberley District 6

gression trade union federation to fight for the struggles of the workers. The workers of the country needs a united COSA- TU. The capitalist wants to see a weakened COSATU that will not be capable of fighting for the rights of workers and fighting to improve working conditions. A weakened CO- SATU will only weaken the voice of the working class. A united COSATU will lead the workers to improved working conditions. A weakened CO- SATU also weakens the Alliance. Strength and unity of the alliance is needed to ensure that we drive the radical second phase of the national democratic revolution. Unless we embark on a radical second phase of our revolution, crisis levels of unemployment, poverty and inequality will continue. It will place impossible strains on the trade union movement, threatening all the gains that have been made. Voice of the Proletariat May 2016 As part of the struggle to ensure radical transformation, the SACP continues with COSATU in the struggle for: A new income and wage policy focused on addressing poverty and inequalities; A comprehensive social security system and a rejection of piecemeal approaches; The aligning of the mandate of Treasury and the Reserve Bank to the agenda of a radical economic transformation; Measures to ensure beneficiation of our natural resources; The channeling of retirement funds towards investment including building infrastructure where workers live; Comprehensive land reform to reverse the legacy of rural and urban racialised spaces; and De-tenderisation of the state. Young Workers The SACP calls on all young workers to join unions affiliated to COSATU in their numbers. Young workers must not be distracted by the counter revolutionary forces that wants to weaken the cause of the workers by starting brake away unions. Young workers are called upon not to leave the revolution. The youth must remain committed to the NDR and therefore remain committed to COSATU. The YCLSA must continue to fight against the casualization of workers and against to the use of labour brokers! South Africa has been the defender of human- and worker rights, throughout the struggle, and earned the respect of the world. Let us continue to uphold these rights and let us continue to defend the rights of all workers. All workers in the country must unite and protect the gains that has been made for workers in the last 22 years and ensure a decisive election’s victory for the ANC! Forward to united COSATU forward! OJ Fourie is the SACP Kimberley District Deputy District Secretary and a former YCLSA National Committee Member Revolutionary Editorial Team Cde Dave Rolse District Secretary Cde OJ Fourie Deputy District Secretary Cde Basil Sekao District Organiser 17 Graham Street Kimberley, 8301 053 831 4180 sacpkimberleydistrict@webmail.co.za Kimberley District 7